Nintendo Interview | Itagaki Talks Ninja Gaiden DS & More

Following the revelation of Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword coming to the DS courtesy of Tecmo's Team Ninja, head honcho Tomonobu Itagaki has recently spoken about the project. When asked what makes the DS better than the PSP, Itagaki-san talked about the touch-screen giving complete freedome and instant input, allowing for "a completely new type of gameplay."

He was also quizzed on his previous comments about supporting the most powerful system, to which he laughed and then stated the DS game cartridge "will most likely be the second largest!" He also added:

"Let me tell you something that will surprise you. The Ryu Hayabusa present in Ninja Gaiden DS is the speediest of all the Ninja Gaiden games in existence. And when I say 'in existence,' go ahead and assume I also mean projects currently in development. When I say 'speedy,' I don't just mean fast in a cheaply implemented way. Anyone can simply speed up the animations. This is speed as it pertains to those elements that are so dear to me - interactivity and responsiveness. I don't know how many times you would want to scratch across the screen of the DS in the space of a second, but rest assured that Hayabusa will constantly and flawlessly keep up with your every input. That's the kind of game it is.

"Let me logically explain how a game such as this is possible. Games made for existing gaming consoles (with the superb exception of the Wii) interpret, process, and execute the player's input using a procedural paradigm. At the very least, the games that you all love (thanks!), Ninja Gaiden and DOA, are made in this way. On the other hand, my newest Ninja Gaiden DS game interprets, processes, and executes player input using an object-oriented paradigm. These terms are used in information processing and therefore you may not be very familiar with them; if this aspect of my design philosophy interests you, please look up these terms."

In terms of how the story fits in with the rest of the series, Dragon Sword is a side-story, or (as it would be in Japanese) a Ninja Gaiden gaiden...(*ahem*). Itagaki plans on revealing several aspects of the Vigoor mythology that have not previously been touched upon. Examples include why was the gigantic Holy Vigoor Emperor created and who brought it into the world.

Finally, he talked about the elite team working on the project:

"The main programmer is a man that worked with me to create the action engines for both the DOA series and Ninja Gaiden. Without the two of us working together, there would be no way to achieve the unique speed of this portable action engine that we have created. The lead artist is a man who oversaw the creation of all of the ending movies in DOA4. Soon you will be able to see that his talents extend into the portable realm in addition to high-end computer graphics. The design lead is a man that has been designing the DOA series with me and [DOA game system designer] Katsunori Ehara since the very first game. He is a veteran of every game in the DOA series, and I think that's all the explanation that's really needed. Quite a luxurious lineup, isn't it? [laughs]

"The project lead is none other than me. I have a number of projects under my supervision right now, but there are a select few that I am directly focused on. This is one of them. As this game is the third major challenge that I have placed upon Team Ninja, it is only natural that I lead the charge personally."

Be sure to read the full interview: here.

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